Mazzoni Center’s Elixir gala returns for its second installment next week with a focus on LGBT allies.
Elixir will be held from 6-10 p.m. May 18 at the Loews Hotel, 1200 Market St., and will feature food, an open bar, live music and a silent auction.
Mazzoni Center will present its Peter Mazzoni Award to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who will accept via video from Washington, D.C., and its Mazzoni Center Ally Award to Major League Baseball player Joe Valentine.
Valentine is currently a pitcher in the Mexican League of the MLB and previously played for the Cincinnati Reds. The son of lesbian mothers, Valentine has worked to promote awareness of LGBT-headed families.
Sebelius has spearheaded HHS’ recent efforts to advance LGBT inclusion and promote healthy living among the community.
“Up until four years ago, you could never find ‘LGBT’ listed on any proposal from the federal government to fund services, and there was hardly any money that directly went to LGBT issues,” Mazzoni executive director Nurit Shein said. “This administration and the secretary have made it so that now pretty much every proposal has the LGBT population included in some way.”
Shein noted that HHS has also begun including questions on sexual orientation on national health questionnaires.
“Anything that really was within the power of HHS to change so that it can be more cognizant of LGBT issues has happened,” she added. “Yes, they still have a long way to go, and there are still things that need to be done as far as transgender inclusion, but we’re going in the right direction. Organizations like Mazzoni Center can now have a dialogue with the federal government and actually have a partner who listens and responds.”
While neither Sebelius nor Valentine are members of the LGBT community, Shein said it’s important that the community extends a thank you to them and the countless other allies who work for equality.
“Without our allies, the LGBT movement would not have advanced as far as we have,” she said. “It’s thanks to our activists and supporters from both the LGBT and straight communities that we have been able to achieve all that we have. And I feel that we need to increase and strengthen those ties and mainstream ourselves so people know who we are. We need to be seen for who we are in the mainstream community, so that we cannot be ignored, and one way to do that is to develop deep relationships with our allies.”
LGBT community leaders will also be on hand at the gala, such as CBS 3 reporter Jim Donovan, who will serve as master of ceremonies, and DJ Carl Michaels.
Now in its second year, Elixir is gaining greater name recognition among the community, Shein said, noting that registration and donations are already up from last year.
“We’ve really grown the support for Elixir and I hope that, in years to come, this will become a staple in Philadelphia,” she said.
Tickets are $125 or $250 for a VIP package, and can be purchased at www.mazzonicenter.org.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].